


Lighter Than He Looks

by wyvernlordminerva



Series: ShiroSieg Week 2k16 [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Blood, Hospitals (sort of), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 20:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7069663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyvernlordminerva/pseuds/wyvernlordminerva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Day 1: Regret/Light<br/>While carrying him away from the battlefield, Shiro couldn’t help but notice Siegbert was lighter than he looked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lighter Than He Looks

Siegbert never saw it coming, lost in the chaos of the battle around him, the magic swooping down on him from behind. It stung, yes, but it hardly left a scratch. No, it was the aftershock that did him in, paralyzing him for just a moment, but long enough for an opportunistic berserker to swing in and deal a finishing blow. He slammed onto to the ground with a choked gasp.

He heard a yell, Shiro abandoning his fight and rushing to his side. His chest was screaming, burning, blood gurgling in his throat like magma as he coughed. Shiro was saying something to him, waving his hand in front of his face and searching through his things for a vulnerary. Tears stung at the back of his eyes. It felt like a wasted effort.

A crash and a scream echoed from far away, pulling his bleary attention away from his thoughts. Shiro was yelling at him again, pulling at his armor. He lifted his back, breastplate falling from his chest as his head lolled back against his arm, eyes slipping closed. 

“No! Stay awake!” Shiro shouted, slapping him across the face. In any other situation, Siegbert would’ve berated him for being obtuse, but he could barely understand what was happening as Shiro slid his arms underneath him and lifted him up. He gasped for breath, injuries disturbed by the movement. Shiro muttered apologies and waited for him to calm down.

His voice drifted in and out of his head, swept away by waves of pain before he could understand them. Everything seemed too bright, too strong, but he still couldn’t comprehend any of it. Faintly, he recognized the blurs of red and white as his companions, surrounding the pair with shouts of horror. Mitama brushed through the crowd, festal fumbling as she worked her magic the best she could.

It wasn’t enough. It could barely stop the bleeding. The panic was painfully loud, his ears ringing from the sound and the light dizzying. He felt bile rising in his throat.

Shiro growled and and started running, squeezing Siegbert tight to his chest. He was yelling again, voice fading with each word as darkness clawed at the edge of his vision. Shiro screamed at him one last time, pain pulling him under into unconsciousness.

* * *

The medical tent was a harsh white to better distinguish it from the rest of the camp, and, for that purpose, it served well. For any unfortunate patients making the always-painful journey from the total darkness of sleep to the light of day, it was ungodly. Siegbert groaned, already feeling the burn through his eyelids. He pulled at his arm, irritated to find it strapped to his front only to remember how it had gotten there. The battle flashed through his head, memory on repeat as he relived his failure over and over. With a hiss, he tore open his eyes, hoping the light would burn those images away.

“Ah, Xander, he’s awake!” his aunt, Elise, called out, rushing over to assess his injuries. She scanned him for any changes in his condition before allowing the rest of his family in. His father leaned over him, brushing his hair out of his face.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Bad.” Siegbert deadpanned, earning a chuckle. He stared into his father’s face, searching for any sign of disappointment, only finding fear and concern.

“We were terrified when Shiro ran screaming into camp! What happened?” Elise asked. Siegbert’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name.

“Where’s Shiro? Is he okay?” he blurted out without a second thought.

“Oh, he’s fine! He looked really upset though, so I told him to go rest.” He sighed in relief, his father quietly amused by the irony.

“It’s you we’re concerned about,” he reminded him, “are you sure you’re alright?” Siegbert’s face fell, the battle flowing back into his head.

“I just…” he mumbled, unsure what to say for himself. He should’ve never taken them on by himself.

“That’s alright,” his father said, not intending to dismiss him maliciously, “You get some rest. It’s going to take a while for your injuries to heal.” And you’ll be off from training until they do, Siegbert finished in his mind. He nodded slowly. His father acknowledged it and ushered everyone out, extinguishing the lamps as they left. As he lifted the tent flap, he turned back to face him.

“Despite the outcome, you fought well today.” he said, departing before Siegbert could even think to correct him. The words itched in his head, irritating and incomprehensible. Having to retreat from the battlefield was the exact opposite of doing well, as far as he was concerned, but his father would never lie about his performance. He grumbled, sinking deeper into his cot.

Eventually, the opening of the tent shuffled again, another visitor peeking in tentatively. Shiro’s eyes scanned the room, laughing quietly at the idea of Siegbert blending into the bedding. He noticed his eyes on him with a jolt, face lighting up like a kid who had just seen Santa.

“You’re awake!” he shouted. Siegbert winced at the volume, Shiro quickly apologizing as he approached. “How’re you feeling?” 

“A little better,” he said, smiling, “Thank you.” Shiro blinked.

“For what?”

“For rescuing me.” Shiro flushed bashfully.

“Don’t mention it,” he said, scratching the back of his neck, “They messed you up pretty bad. I couldn’t just stand there.”

“You carried me all the way back to camp. That couldn’t have been easy.” 

“You’re a lot lighter than you look.” he said. His eyes widened in horror as he realized his mistake. “N-not that you look heavy or anything, but all that armor makes you look bigger than you are! I mean, not bigger than you are in a the sense that it makes you look fat, but-” Siegbert cut him off with a one-armed hug.

“Thank you,” he said into his shoulder, “I really do mean it.” Shiro’s face went red again, unsure if he should return it out of concern for his injuries. Carefully, he wrapped his arms around the other boy, the two silently appreciating the other’s presence for a minute before parting again. They stared into each other’s eyes, in a daze, until Shiro destroyed the moment.

“Anyway!” he said, “Do you want any food? I’m starving!” Siegbert blinked, confused by the abrupt change.

“Uh, sure.”

“Great! Wait here!” he said, as though Siegbert could actually leave, and darted off. Realization setting in, he laughed. Shiro was flustered. With a smile, he let himself get comfortable as he waited for the other prince to return. He wouldn’t mind seeing that again.

**Author's Note:**

> And it begins! If you wanna see the rest of the collection, you'll have to go to my tumblr (shyghosty), because it's going to be a while before i can post anything else on ao3  
> hope you enjoyed!


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